Estranged husband gets community order after attacking wife during messy house row

Chesterfield magistrates' court.

Published:12:57Thursday 28 July 2016

A husband has been given a community order after he attacked his wife when she had criticised him for the untidy mess in their house.

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard on Wednesday, July 27, how Mihkel Hanvere, 61, formerly of Cruck Close, Dronfield Woodhouse, Dronfield, twice grabbed his wife by the arms and pushed her into a kitchen unit when she had complained.

Prosecuting solicitor Sarah Haslam had told the court during a hearing on July 6 that this couple has been married 30 years but after the defendant was made redundant this created issues and he started drinking heavily and there was a lot of debt and he became violent and aggressive.

On June 17, when Hanvere’s wife had returned from staying with her brother she had found the house in a mess, according to Ms Haslam, and she started cleaning and arguing about the state of the house.

Ms Haslam added that she was washing pots in the kitchen when she said her husband had said get out and he grabbed her arms and then grabbed her glasses and threw them in the sink.

He grabbed her again and pushed her into a unit before throwing a Hoover which struck the complainant’s foot, according to Ms Haslam.

Ms Haslam added that Hanvere’s wife fled to a neighbour’s home and the police were alerted.

The court heard how the couple had become estranged but were still living together at the time of the incident.

Hanvere told police his wife was moaning about the mess and he accepted grabbing her by the arms, throwing her glasses into the sink and grabbing her again causing her to hit a unit.

But he claimed to police that he did not tell his wife to get out and he had accidentally struck her foot with the vacuum cleaner.

Defence solicitor Ms Meadows had said that the defendant had been forced to sleep in his car after the incident.

Hanvere, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to the assault and also admitted breaching his bail by contacting his wife on July 9.

Magistrates sentenced Hanvere to a 12 month community order with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 40 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given a restraining order until June 20, 2017, and he must pay £50 compensation, an £85 victim surcharge and £85 costs.